Storms Of '04 Bring Record Insurer Losses

[senorpepr]

Natural disasters, including U.S. hurricanes and Asian typhoons, cost insurers $42 billion this year, making 2004 the costliest ever for the industry, even before tsunamis struck tourist resorts in Thailand and Malaysia.
More than 22,000 people were killed after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated waves as high as 33 feet Sunday. It's too early to know how much the destruction will add to 2004's insured loss damage, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the industry-sponsored Insurance Information Institute in New York.

Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne slammed into Florida during August and September, and a record 10 typhoons struck in the Pacific Ocean. Before the tsunamis, natural and man- made disasters had caused $105 billion in losses, according to Swiss Reinsurance Co.

``This year was already a record year in terms of insured losses from catastrophes,'' Hartwig said.

Swiss Reinsurance, the world's second-largest reinsurer, said claims from the tsunamis probably will be lower than the estimated $27 billion of insured damages tied to the U.S. hurricanes. Hartwig agrees, estimating losses between ``hundreds of millions of dollars'' and $5 billion because the United States has much more insured property than the areas hit Sunday.

The second-costliest year for the insurance industry was 1992, when hurricanes Andrew and Iniki struck. The storms generated $38 billion in insured losses.

http://money.tbo.com/money/MGBYT2RF93E.html

[Hurricanehink]

That's a real shame for those people. Imagine the rates next year What's stopping an event like this happening 10 years from now?

On a side note: it's good to see you back here. You stopped posting for a while.

[senorpepr]

On a side note: it's good to see you back here. You stopped posting for a while.

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, for the majority of November I was in Mississippi for a class. After I returned, I was swamped with work until I took a few weeks vacation in December. So now I'm trying to get caught up here.